Scientists finally solve type 1 diabetes mystery
Answers to one of the last remaining questions regarding the mechanics of type 1 diabetes has finally been solved by scientists from the University of Lincoln, England. The team of researchers discovered the fifth primary target attacked by the immune systems of those with the rare diabetes form.
The team hopes that their research and findings could help in developing more effective treatments and preventative measures for the disease.
The own immune system of patients with type 1 diabetes escalates an attack on insulin-producing beat cells, ultimately destroying them and preventing the production of insulin. This in turn makes it impossible for the body to control blood sugar levels without intervention, in the form of insulin injections and other treatment.
According to existing research, the disease showed that there were five critical targets attacked by the immune systems in those with the type 1 diabetes. Some of the targets were identified decades ago, but researchers have been looking for the fifth target for over 20 years. In an interview with the BBC, Dr. Michael Christie, who led the research said, “With this new discovery, we have now finished identifying what the immune system is targeting – we have the complete picture.” The five targets are Insulin, Glutamate decarboxylase, IA-2, Zinc transporter-8, and the newly-discovered fifth target, tetraspanin-7. The more technically named ones are largely involved in secreting or storing the hormone insulin.
Christie says that diabetes has been a difficult disease to prevent because the immune system is very hard to stop once it decides that it wants to eliminate something.
“So we’re hoping that, by having identified the major targets in the disease, we can find ways to prevent it by blocking the immune response to these five proteins without leaving that person vulnerable to infections,” Christie said. “With recent improvements in our understanding of the disease I’m very hopeful we’ll develop a treatment now; I have a lot more confidence than even five years ago.”
The full results of the study are published in the online journal Diabetes.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
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